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Loftus
Loftus and his two brothers Cletus and Longinus were natives of the Jewel City of Beryl who joined the Black Company in Shadow Games. They quickly established themselves as indispensable engineers, artillery specialists, and architects. They served the Company with distinction, especially during the Siege of Dejagore (Bleak Seasons) and the rest of the Shadowmaster wars (She Is the Darkness). All three brothers became members of the Captured. Loftus and Cletus would survive that ordeal, and would go on to build the Company's small fortified city, the Abode of Ravens in Hsien, from scratch. ''Shadow Games'' Loftus, Cletus, and Longinus were serving in the Urban Cohorts of Beryl in Shadow Games. Without warning, the giant warship called The Dark Wings arrived at Beryl's harbor. Croaker, with his handful of Black Company brothers and the Lady, rapidly passed through the city. The three brothers recognized the Company from the band's service there (the events of The Black Company) during the brothers' younger years, which was when Beryl was independent and not yet part of the Lady's Empire. They deserted the Cohorts, and, with Murgen's sponsorship, were all admitted into the Company. ''She Is the Darkness'' In She Is the Darkness, Loftus and his brothers improved Lady's original design on her fireball projectors exponentially. They vastly improved the infantry models and also created incredibly accurate cannon-sized versions. They would help the Company defeat and capture Longshadow at the Siege of Overlook, ending the Shadowmaster wars in victory. After that, Loftus and his two brothers traveled with Croaker, Lady, Murgen and about 44 others during the Company's historic passage through the homeworld shadowgate and onto the glittering plain. At the fortress with no name in the center of the plain, the three brothers were doomed to become members of the Captured, a group that was imprisoned by Soulcatcher within the cave of the ancients in a magic stasis for at least 15 years. ''Water Sleeps'' Loftus, like most of the rest of the Captured, was immobile and unconscious throughout Water Sleeps and the preceding 15 years. Sleepy finally reached the Captured after her arduous quest at the end of Water Sleeps. There, she misidentified Longinus's corpse as belonging to Cletus. The brother whom she saw alive and preserved next to Sparkle – and whom she misidentified as Longinus – was either Loftus or Cletus. ''Soldiers Live'' Although their brother Longinus did not survive the Captivity, Loftus and Cletus were rescued from their icy stasis during one of Sleepy's expeditions between Hsien and the nameless fortress. This took place sometime very early during the 4-year gap between Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live. The two brothers went on to build the Company's small fortified city, the Abode of Ravens in Hsien, from scratch. Their architectural achievement was admired immensely by Croaker. Loftus and Cletus were both part of Croaker's eclectic group of Company men and allies permitted by Sleepy (the Captain) to enter the Voroshk world to get revenge upon Lisa Daele Bowalk for the murder of One-Eye. Others who were present during this operation were: Lady; Murgen; Thai Dei; Willow Swan; Uncle Doj; a group of Unknown Shadows called the Black Hounds; Cratch; Slobo; Spiff and JoJo (who would both be both killed there); and later Goblin (possessed by the Khadidas) and the two Chu Ming brothers. Both Loftus and Cletus were killed during the costly Battle at the Shadowlander cemetery in Soldiers Live. They died alongside a number of other significant Company members (including Iqbal Singh, Riverwalker, Pham Huu Clee, Li Wan, and the two Chun brothers) as well as two of the Company's old allies: Willow Swan and Blade. Category:Characters Category:Characters from Beryl Category:Black Company Category:The Captured